Container and applicator for liquid and gaseous compounds



Jan. 10, 1956 w. c. BEARD, JR., ET AL 2,

CONTAINER AND APPLICATOR FOR LIQUID AND GASEOUS COMPOUNDS Filed 001;. 5, 1951 //7 van fors M/a/fer Cfiearaf Jr & Ar/bz r E flagfon J soldering.

CONTAINER AND APPrreA'ron FOR LIQUID AND GASEOUS coMPon ns Walter C. Beard, Jr., Naugatuck, and, ArthurB. Dayton,

.lr., Danbury, Conn, assignors toTheRrsdon Manufactoring Company, .Naligatuck, Conn a corporation of Connecticut liquid and gaseous compounds under pressure; and more particularly, it relates, to small fire extinguishers. Since the invention finds its principal utility in fire extinguishers of the type containing liquid and gasfire-extingui'shing compounds under pressure, the following disclosure .Wlll refer more especially to this particular use of .the invention.

The purpose of small hand fire extinguishers is to provide a ready supply offire-extinguishing material which can be rapidly applied to ablaze before the. firehas an opportunity to get out of control. Small extinguishers of this type have been available for some time andvanons devices have been employed-for easily-and quickly opening the discharge outlet of such an extinguisher'to permit discharge of the liquid content through. said outlet under the urge of gas pressure developed therein. These extinguishers are capable of squirting a stream of fire-extinguishing material on a flame from a distanceof some to feet. Ordinarily, once the contents have been expended the container must be recharged before it can be used again, or it can simply be discarded.

An object of this invention is to provide a container and applicator of this type having a closure device which is extremely simple to open. .Moreover, the applicator. as a whole is easily andeconomically manufactured, another object being to provide a, novel method of assemblingthe closure device with the container.

In general, the invention comprises a container for fluids under pressure having adischarge openingor outlet and a closure device therefor, which not only sealssaidopening but is also capable of breaking theseal tQpermit the contents of the container to flow through theoutletJ .The closure device consists morelparticularlyof a=l ever-lor handle from which extendsa projection adapted tonormally extend into the discharge opening.ofthecontainer and to be sealed therein. Said device 'isprovidedwith means which contact and react'against 'thewall'ofthe container for withdrawing said projection or pin from the discharge opening in order to'break the seal andopen, the outlet.

The lever means, employed in. accordance with apreferred form of the invention, has a portion which contacts the outside of the Wall of the container adjacent thedischarge outlet and is shaped to conform .withthe contour of said wall so as to normally lie substantially snug intraceto-face contact against it. in this position, the pin extends into the opening and is sealed there'inffor instance-by In order to break the seal, the closure device is rotated relative to the wall of the container with said pin as the axis of rotation sothat the wall acts like a cam as the wallcontacting portion of the device, rides up on the surface of .the wall or walls to impart a twist-lift type of action. This twist-lift action withdrawsthepin from the opening, breaking the soldered seal and completely disengaging theclosure device from the container sOJthat. theL fluid contents .filling and charging the extinguisher. vfilling opening is rolled to form bead snug against the can, in .fa .when the closure device 16 .shown in'Figs. 2 and 3.

Other means for withdrawing the projection from the discharge opening may be used without departing'from the scope of this invention. For instance, a simple lever arrangement can be employed, in which one end of the handle is adapted to be fulcrumed against the container wall by a straight outward pull on the opposite end of the handle, to provide the necessary mechanical advantage to pull the pin from its soldered position in the outlet.

A more detailed understanding of the invention will be obtained from the following description of a fire extinguisher embodying the invention and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a. perspective view of a fire extinguisher embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view on a larger scale in cross section along a horizontal plane through line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view of the lower portion of the extinguisher in longitudinal section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, the extinguisher being shown lying on its side;

.Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the closure device rotated Fig. 5 is a perspective view on the same scale as Figs.

v2-4 of the closure device alone; and

rounded bottom 12. The top of the container is more or less frusto-conically shaped to provide an opening-for The edge of the 13 (Fig. 6) over which cap 14 is crimped after the extinguisher has been charged. In the preferred form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4, a discharge hole 15 is provided in Wall 11 adjacent the bottomof the can.

A closure device, indicated generally at 16, is. provided for sealing dischargehole 15 and is, furthermore, capable ofubeing readily removed in order to permit discharge of the contents. Closure device 16 consists of a handle 17, apin 18 which normally protrudes into discharge 'hole .l5,.and wall-contacting portions or wing members 19,. the under faces of whichhave substantially the same curvature as the wall of the can and therefore will-lie -to-face contact therewith is assembled as is clearly In order to seal discharge opening 15,.pin 18is soldered therein as shown at Zi). 'When the closure device 16 is turned relativeto the container 10 as shown inFig. 4, only-the ends of wing members 19 contact the wall of the container and "pin 18 is raised out of the discharge hole, breakingthe seal.

In the specific illustration shown, the closure device is made of sheet metal of heavy enough gage to -prevent distortion of the'wings and handle when the container is opened. .Furthermore,.handle 17 is. channel-shaped to give it additional strength. Pin 18 is sheared or partially punched out of the central web of this channelled portion of theclosure device intermediatethe wing members 19 .and is bent inwardly substantially perpendicular to the .handle 17. While pin mean he made in various other ways as by welding a separate piece onto the closure device, the form shown is particularly advantageous in that it provides a simple yet strong element which is easy to manufacture.

In assembling the closure device 16 with the container 10 prior to charging the extinguisher, a :ring of solder-is placed .over the discharge hole 15 and, with the into the opening 15. The discharge hole is then sealed with pin 18 integrally held therein by means of a soldermg iron.

In order to eliminate one step in the manufacture of devices of the kind herein disclosed, the pin 18 of the closure device can be used to puncture its own hole in the wall of the container instead of piercing or punching the discharge hole 15 before assembling the parts. If this method is used, the pin is pressed or hammered through the wall 11 and then immediately soldered in the hole which it has made.

As is clearly shown in Figs. 2-4, in order for pin 18 to protrude through wall 11, handle 17 must be parallel to the longitudinal axis of the can so that wing members 19 lie snug against the wall of the can. In this normal position of the closure device, the extinguisher and its closure device make a compact unit.

The container is made of a metal which is strong enough to withstand the required pressure developed therein and is resistant to rust and corrosion or is treated, for instance, by plating with copper or tin. Numerous extinguishing compounds and various methods of charging the extinguisher may be used. For instance, the charge may desirably consist of methylene chlorobrornide or chlorobromoethane (CHzClBr) and carbon dioxide (C02). The CO2 can be added by first filling the container about three quarters full of the liquid extinguishing material and placing a piece of Dry Ice of predetermined size in the container. The container 10 is then capped by crimping the cover 14 over the head 13 of the filling opening, a suitable sealing material being provided on the inner surface of cover 14 to ensure an absolutely tight closure. Transformation of the Dry Ice to the gaseous state develops the necessary pressure within the container to completely empty it when the release valve is opened. The foregoing is merely exemplary of one method of charging the extinguisher, it being understood that any other suitable extinguishing compound and different methods of charging can also be used.

When it is desired to use the extinguisher, closure device 16 is rotated by means of handle 17 about pin 18 so that pin 18 is withdrawn from the discharge opening 15, as shown in Fig. 4, by a twist-lift or cam action between the wall of the can and the curved wing members 19, thereby breaking the solder seal 20 and com pletely disengaging the closure device 16 from the container 10. The contents of the can are then forced under pressure through the discharge outlet until the extinguisher is completely empty.

Instead of the discharge hole being adjacent the bottom of the container as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, a hole 21 (Fig. 6) may be provided in an upper portion of wall 11, and in this case a tube 22 leading to hole 21 from a point adjacent the intersection of the bottom 12 with wall 11 is provided so that when the container is held upright the liquid extinguishing compound is forced out before the gas is permitted to escape. The discharge outlet is sealed by soldering pin 18 of the closure device 16 in hole 21 and the container is charged exactly as hereinbefore described, the same twist-lift action of the closure device being used when it is desired to open the container.

While the preferred form of the invention has been described, it is obvious that other means for withdrawing the projection of the closure device from the discharge opening can be employed. For instance, although the most desirable way of opening the extinguisher hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings is by rotating the closure device 16 about pin 18, the seal may also be broken and the closure device removed by pulling the handle 17 away from the container. Under these circumstances the closure device 16 constitutes a lever means which pivots on a wall-contacting element spaced from the pin (namely, its extreme lower tip) which element acts accordingly as a fulcrum against the wall of the can. This will tear the pin out of hole 15, thus breaking the seal 20. If the device is intended to be used in this manner, however, a more convenient handle can be provided by shaping it so that a persons fingers can be inserted between the handle and the container. The wing members 19, in this case, lend rigidity to the discharge closure thereby helping to prevent accidental opening of the outlet.

These and various other modifications are obvious expedients according to the invention, and it will be understood that this disclosure is intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive, and that the invention includes other arrangements and constructions embodying the underlying principles thereof and falling within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fluid container and applicator, a container for fluid under pressure having a discharge opening in a wall thereof, a closure device having a projection nor mally extending into said opening, and means for sealing said opening with said projection therein, said closure device comprising lever means including a wall-contacting element spaced from said projection so as to form a fulcrum against a wall of said container to withdraw said projection from said opening for breaking said sealing means and releasing said fluid.

2. The device set forth in claim 1 wherein said lever means includes, in addition to said wall-contacting element, a wall contacting portion having a surface shaped to more or less conform with the outside contour of said wall so as to lie normally substantially snugly in face-toface contact therewith, and handle means for moving said wall-contacting portion out of said face-to-face relation.

3. The device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said handle means is rotatable relative to said wall about said projection as an axis so that said wall-contacting portion rides up on said wall which acts as a cam.

4. In a fluid container and applicator, a container for fluid under pressure having a substantially cylindrical wall with a discharge opening therein, a closure device comprising a handle having a pin extending substantially perpendicular therefrom and normally projecting into said discharge opening, and means for sealing said pin in said opening, said handle including opening means having a wall-contacting portion shaped with substantially the same curvature as said wall and adapted and arranged to normally lie substantially snug in faceto-face contact against said wall and to be rotated by said handle about said pin so that said wall-contacting portion rides up on the cylindrical wall of said container to lift said pin out of said discharge opening.

5. The device set forth in claim 4 in which said wallcontacting portion comprises wing members extending laterally from said handle adjacent said pin.

6. The device set forth in claim 5 wherein said handle comprises a sheet metal channel, said pin being an elongated section cut from a central portion of said channel and integral therewith.

7. The method of assembling and filling a container device comprising a container provided with a filling opening and a dispensing opening, and including a lever means having a handle portion and a pin extending therefrom, the latter fill-ing said dispensing opening and normally sealed therein for removal at the time of dispensing by actuation of the handle portion, which comprises: forming the pin on the lever means with containenpiercing surfaces; forming the dispensing opemng in the container by puncturing a hole in a wall of the container with the pin which extends from the handle portion, sealing the dispensing opening thus made by soldering said pin therein, charging said container wlth a suitable fluid through said filling opening, and sealing said filling opening.

8. In a fluid container and applicator, a container for 5 fluid under pressure having a discharge opening in a wall thereof, a closure device having a projection normally extending into and closing said opening and an operating handle normally extending along the container wall, means for sealing said opening with the projection therein, and means on said closure device positioned in cooperative relationship with said container wall and operative upon movement of said handle from its normal position to react against said container wall in a fashion to withdraw said projection from said opening for breaking said sealing means and releasing said fluid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

